Chapter 2
The Escape
As Geneviéve Cinders walked hurriedly past the dark alleys in the dirtiest part of London, she was suddenly pushed into a dark, wet room. A match flared up and Geneviéve was staring face to face to Antonio, a thief, a killer, and a muggle. He was holding a long, crooked, sharp knife and quickly went to light a lantern.
"So, ye think ye going to leave here without my due payment?" he scathingly questioned and breathed his hot, alcoholic breath on her face. She silently stepped away from him.
Geneviéve stayed quiet, for all her long years on the streets, she knew that when a man was drunk, especially this man, what he had just said wasn't the end of the conversation. Nope, he wouldn't have pulled her off the street like that. Geneviéve's eyes opened in fear; maybe he was going to cut her up like he did to Moll's face. She shook her head no and told herself to calm down. This man probably just wants a sixpence; Moll must have owed him some kind of debt. She looked up at him now and he was muttering profanity under his breath.
"Um...sir? Is there something wrong? Does Moll owe you something?" she asked meekly. She tried to calm her heart and gain some courage, but ever since she got that letter from Hogwarts, she couldn't help but be a tad bit afraid.
"What? Oh, no. No, Moll doesn't owe me anything, but...you do."
"WHAT!!??" she gasped in shock and thought, I can't possibly owe this man anything!! I've never really talked to him for this long.
He chuckled lightly. "No, lass, of course ye wouldn't think you owed me anything. Why would Geneviéve Cinders think that?" She gasped at that. "Yes, I know ye name. Who the hell do ye think has been looking out for ye this whole time? Not Moll Parkins. No, no. It's been me, fool." He chuckled even more when he saw the look of confusion on her face. "Yup, it's true, all of it. If you weren't leaving town so early, ye could run back to old Moll there and ask the truth from her."
"Why have you been protecting me, then?" Geneviéve asked impatiently.
"Why else do ye think?" When she didn't respond he sighed and said, "Because I'm in love with ye. Yup, love!"
She simply gasped at that. "No, that can't be true. I hate you, I hate you!!" She sprinted to the door, whipped it open, and sprang out onto the street running ahead. Behind her, she could hear him yelling at her, but she didn't care. She had to get to King's Cross!
